QuestionDavid, not that it matters but I was an expert on this site several years for electrical wiring around the home and fielded 1600 questions, so I have a genuine appreciation for what you are doing. I am 73 and my wife has a progressive neurological disease similar to Parkinsons. She has become wheel chair bound and I have to transfer her to bed, chair, toilet several times a day. I was over confident that my strength would gradually increase as I had to help her. I've found, however, that her disease is progressing faster than my strength and ability to help her. I've said all this to ask if some one at my age can reasonably expect to build any muscle. If so, would a lot of equipment and supplements be required? I am in good health but my body has begun to show the signs of having had so many birthdays.
Thanks for your time.
Al
AnswerDear Al
First, 1,600 questions?! I though my 600 plus questions was great! Ouch! That is a lot of questions!!
Second, I am really sorry about your wife. I have been married for 32 years, we dated for 3 years before we got married.
Now, to the question about strength training and age. YES, absolutely can you get stronger. More than you would imagine.
Go on the internet and look for Jack LaLanne. He is 90 and is amazing shape!! I met a man who was 83 (I though he was 65) and he was also in shape that put shame to people half his age! What a motivation he was for me.
What is happening to your strength is called sarcopenia. It is also in the internet. What happens is when we reach the age 18, we take a slow decline in strength. Strength training brings back the strength we lost, at any age.
Here is what you need to buy:
Go to a hardware store like Home Depot. Buy a couple of 5 gallon pails with lids and a concrete construction block.
Put some water in each pail, put the lids back on. Pick up the pails and HOLD them for 60 seconds. Be sure to keep your elbows bent a bit, your knees bent a bit, and bend over a bit. You do this so your muscles are holding the weight, not your bones. I put a wall clock with a sweep hand on the floor when doing this so I can watch 60 seconds with no strain. Difficult to look up.
Do this exercise every other day. Once a week, add a bit more water to the pails.
What you are doing is tightening up, and then fatiquing the muscles. When they are resting, they get stronger and tighter. Your wife may be able to do this exercise also by holding a couple of 1 gallon bottles partially filled with water while sitting down on a kitchen chair. If she can stand, I suggest that she try this exercise standing also. It will make her muscles tighter also so it will help her with her condition to be more comfortable with daily living.
Of course with both of you, only enough water weight where it is heavy after 30 seconds. NOT the instant you pick up the bottles.
The only supplement I found that actually works is a daily multivitamin with multiminerals.
And, if you can, include a daily stretching program. Here is what I recommend: standing in your kitchen, hands on the counter top corner, feet apart a bit, one knee forward a bit, the other foot back a bit, foot firmly on the floor. Do counter top pushups. Making sure you stretch the back of the leg set back. Do as many times as you can. Your goal is 10 times. Then reverse and do the other leg.
Still standing at the counter top, hands on the counter top for balance, squat down slowly. Then go up. If you have trouble going down, place a stool underneath so you squat down to the stool, going up with balance and control. Again, 10 times is your goal.
By doing the water bottles and the counter top exercises, you are stretching and tightening up your muscles. This also makes the metabolism go faster. So you will be more alert as well as stronger.
It is important to understand that NONE of these exercises will give you any more future birthdays than you are already going to have. But they WILL make you physically strong right up to your last birthday! And I feel that is a good thing to have. My motto is live long, die strong.
Of course, if you wish to consider it, you can go FURTHER with these exercises by investing in a power rack. I do a once-a-week exercise with a power rack ALSO for the last 17 years that changed me from a medium shirt, to a 4XL shirt. At MY age (almost 54!). We can discuss this further if you wish.
I have helped a lot of people, including chidren with very serious physical limitations, older people who are just overwhelmed with their physical conditions. I know these exercises work, take little time, can be done by anyone with time and patience. They will help you. Thank you so much for writing and the nice complement. I get physicals every 3 months so doctors are telling me what I am doing is working amazing things to my body.
May you and your wife live life healthy, strong and happy.
Have a good day. And write again if you have any more questions. Thanks again for everything. Wow, 1,600 questions! That is great!
